What if Marc Guehi is now the smokescreen for a different England defender? - opinion

Newcastle United under the PIF have become illusionists in the transfer window - highly adept at making you look one way then revealing someone entirely different as a new signing.

We aren't suggesting for one second that this entire Marc Guehi drama has been a smokescreen - there is a definite interest there, but it's starting to take some weird turns that the Newcastle board will not like.

The deal being played out in public and the other club's co-owner going on a great media tour of Britain spouting off about Newcastle not offering enough money are likely to be giving Newcastle second thoughts.

Also, the ever-moving goalpost that is the asking price for the 24-year-old is a sign of a club operating in bad faith.

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Could Newcastle work on another deal while the media chases Guehi?

So, what if Newcastle are now just letting this play out in the foreground while they make an approach for Jarrad Branthwaite of Everton?

He's another young England centre-back with a massive reputation, and while Manchester United were put off by Everton's asking price, with what the Magpies are seemingly prepared to spend on Guehi, could a deal be done with Everton for a similar figure to bring 22-year-old Branthwaite to Newcastle?

Branthwaite is not as experienced as Guehi, granted, but he is two years younger and was a stand-out in a struggling Everton side last season.

We want to hear from you

The real question is, how would Newcastle fans take it if, after all this carry-on, the real signing turned out to be someone completely different?

Have you become too invested in Marc Guehi to consider an alternative now? Or are you just so over the Guehi deal that as long as who we do get is of a similar quality, you just don't care?

We're interested to know your thoughts on this, would you be happy with an alternative, and if so, who? Let us know in the comments below.

NUFCFEED has got with the times and now we have a YouTube channel. Here you can see Ash and Liam discuss the things they've written about in the previous week and we'll discuss the games both past and future.

Here's our first weekly roundup talking about the Southampton game, all of this Marc Guehi stuff, Newcastle's search for a new winger and we look ahead to the Bournemouth game.